Apocalyptic Sign: Jazz on National TV

Posted by James Seaman on March 30, 2009

Every culture has its legends about the end of the world and the disturbing events that will portend the final days. Last week’s happenings actually seemed strange enough to signify the apocalypse. I’m not talking about the fact that I came home Thursday to learn my water had been shut off (apparently, neither my landlord nor the New Orleans Water and Sewage Board realized, until Thursday, that no payment has been made at this address in seven years). And I’m not referring to that night’s tornado warning, issued to the New Orleans area because of the kind of lightning that seems to flash inside the house and the type of thunder that booms and literally terrifies. Nope, these things didn’t even faze me. I thought the world might be coming to an end because the Utah Jazz played back-to-back games on national television.

The preceding sentence is not a misprint. The Jazz—so underexposed that members of the national media still mispronounce Deron Williams’ name—played on TNT Tuesday night and then appeared on ESPN the following evening. The networks almost never show the Jazz. Utah gets so little press that ignorant pundits find themselves using the same tired clichés that once described the Malone-Stockton teams a decade ago because they don’t know enough about the current club. Despite Jerry Sloan’s reputation as a player, these Jazz do not play great defense. Yet the offense makes Utah one of the highest scoring teams in the league, contrary to the lingering notion that the Jazz are somehow “boring.”

The Jazz have won 15 playoff games in two years, more than all but a few elite teams. So why don’t they get more coverage? Salt Lake’s small market status is the easiest answer, but this alone does not tell the whole story. I believe the NBA and the networks that cover it have hurt themselves by promoting a handful of individual superstars rather than highlighting the game itself and teams that play it well. The Jazz don’t have LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Dwayne Wade, or Shaquille O’Neal. Therefore, ABC does not show the Jazz in any of its featured games. I understand that ABC needs ratings and will show the teams that it believes will draw the largest television audience. But promoting the game of basketball—and the game’s best teams as opposed to individual players—would both widen and deepen the sport’s fan base. The NFL does not have this problem because people appreciate and want to watch football regardless of which superstars are playing. And for all the talk that baseball has lost its status as our national pastime, don’t forget that only once has the NBA Finals had higher TV ratings than the World Series of the same year (in 1998, when the Finals featured the Utah Jazz).

Professional basketball has a popularity problem that could be lessened were the NBA and its media outlets to give more attention to quality teams like the Utah Jazz. Seeing our boys on national television twice in one week should not come as a shock or a sign that we’ve reached the End of Days. Instead, it’s something we should expect.

3 Comments

MattC on March 30, 2009 said:

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/report_majority_of_utah

Brian McCann on March 31, 2009 said:

I totally agree. I almost laugh out loud every time Kenny and Charles talk about upcoming games and they all include the Lakers. Even when the Lakers suck they get more exposure than the teams that are doing well.

John M and Kathy M on April 02, 2009 said:

There simply are too many teams in the league with the result that talent is diluted. This may diminish national interest in the league. As a result, the NBA is popular in most cities with a franchise but creates much less interest elsewhere.

The JAZZ may not be the darlings of the national meida but they are one of the best supported teams in the league in terms of home attendance. Even the recession hasn’t made a dent in local attendance.

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